(Just off camera, The Grim Reaper stared on in shock as Madadi told him right where he could stick his scythe.) 

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, you know by now that, while most of us are content to booze or sleep away most of our lives, MMA fighters opt to spend their leisure time foiling robberies, saving women from knife-wielding psychopaths, and teaching Canadian hoodlums a lesson in male dominance…I mean respect.

For some reason, the rule goes double for MMA fighters from foreign countries. We all remember the tale of Goran Reljic saving two men from drowning by smashing through their submerged vehicle’s windshield and pulling them to safety WHILE suffering from a back injury. Or how Kid Yamamoto dove onto a subway track in Japan to help lift a man to safety. Seriously, it’s like the rest of the world operates under Article 223-7 of the Latham County Penal Code or something.

In either case, one name you can add to the list of heroic MMA fighters is UFC lightweight Reza Madadi, who recently saved an infant toddler when the child fell from a pier near Hornsberg in his home country of Sweden.

Full story after the jump.

("What part of ‘No, I am not interested in becoming a Jehovah’s Witness *or* accepting your complementary copies of "The Watchtower"’ do you not understand?" PicProps: Strikeforce)

Since the UFC and Strikeforce are set to go head-to-head tonight with dueling shows, we feel it’s only right to pass along another fairly fascinating story courtesy of Old Dad’s ongoing “My First Fight” series over on MMAFighting. This particular gem involves Matt Lindland, who at 40 years old faces a must-win against Robbie Lawler in Strikeforce tonight and prior to that was a royal pain in the UFC’s ass from about 2000-05.

The following story is an example of what we might call “classic Lindland behavior.” It also could serve as a good litmus test for any aspiring fighters out there who may be questioning if they have what it takes to make it in MMA. The test is this: When confronted by a man who tries to crush your dreams, how do you respond? Do you A) Nod sheepishly and slink away? Or B) Offer to fight that man for all the money you have in your wallet? If you answered B, you sir, are a fighter. You may also be Matt Lindland.